Frederick Palmer, one of the most famous war correspondents of the time, brought a different perspective to March and Pershing, both of whom he had gotten to know in Manchuria. He was less fond of March, who knew every subject and thought that he knew it better than anyone else and was impatient with inferior minds. He was impressed, however, by March’s absolute absorption in the task at hand. Pershing was more companionable, and Palmer considered him a friend. Over the weeks they were together the correspondent learned that he was always a little late…but God was he fast when he did move.

Subscribe Today

• Did you enjoy our article?
• Read more in MHQ magazine
• Subscribe online and save!
 

Less than a month after the United States declared war, Secretary of War Newton Baker selected Pershing to command the AEF in France. Although several major generals were senior, all but Leonard Wood were obviously beyond their prime. Wood — a close friend of President Woodrow Wilson’s political enemy, Theodore Roosevelt — had publicly criticized Wilson’s reluctance to enter the war. He also had a severe limp resulting from an accident a few years before. The clincher for Baker was that Pershing had performed well in command of an expedition, while Wood did not have comparable experience. When he received his orders, Pershing went to Washington where, in less than three weeks, he picked a staff, organized his force, and sailed with his staff for France.

Promoted to brigadier general in June, March soon joined Pershing as commander of the 1st Division artillery. Three months later, he received another star and became the AEF’s chief of artillery. While Pershing went about laying the foundation for the entire AEF, March prepared the artillery units for combat. During this training period, he differed with Pershing’s staff in that he thought the officers should be kept with their units rather than sent off to various schools. While some of the staff apparently held this against him, Pershing obviously liked what he saw and considered March an energetic and able commander. In December he invited March to his headquarters; the artillery chief stayed in his home, and the two conferred for a few days.

Earlier, in September, Secretary Baker informed Pershing that he was considering making March chief of staff. Chief of Staff Tasker H. Bliss, who was deservedly well known as one of the army’s leading intellectuals, was due to retire at the end of the year. Baker wanted a younger, more vigorous, dynamic man and had been impressed by March while he served in the Adjutant General’s Office. When Pershing told March of this message, March made it clear he wanted to stay in France. In turn, Pershing agreed and wrote Baker that he did not want to lose such an outstanding officer; he suggested Maj. Gen. John Biddle, a former superintendent of West Point who was then serving as commander of an engineer brigade in the AEF. Baker accepted the recommendation and brought Biddle back as acting chief of staff in October.

The tremendous problems of mobilization overwhelmed Biddle as they had Bliss. With the onset of winter, supply shortages and general conditions at the hastily erected camps came to the attention of Congress, and the chairman of the Senate Military Affairs Committee, George E. Chamberlain, began a hearing in December that continued into January. Newspapers headlined the testimony of witness after witness who detailed the situation at the camps. Finally, on January 19, 1918, Senator Chamberlain dramatically announced that the military establishment of America has fallen down and followed up with a recommendation that a War Cabinet of three leaders be put in control of the war effort. Baker’s response came in his appearance before the committee a few days later when he gave a lengthy explanation of what was going on and what could be expected.

Before that, however, he called the builder of the Panama Canal, George W. Goethals, back to active duty, put him in charge of the Quartermaster Department, and cabled Pershing that he urgently needed March. Pershing brought March to his headquarters at Chaumont, thoroughly briefed him on the GHQ staff, and sent him on a brief visit to the American part of the front before he sailed for home. On March 4, March formally assumed the position of acting chief of staff.

Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to